This is the work I do because it needs to be done — not because it’s easy, marketable, or immediately rewarded.

These projects are rooted in complete, place-based food systems: short chains where biodiversity, culture, and responsibility are inseparable.
They set the direction for my work — informing how I cook, how I collaborate, and what I will and won’t compromise on.

Turning purpose into impact

Every project that I take on reflects one belief: Food has the power to inspire change

Indonesia: Chef Danielle & locals of an ASIC small holder sustainable shrimp farm in enjoy a meal that they cooked together.

Field work with small-scale producers and communities, where food systems are lived, not theorized or reduced to labels.

Field Work & Food Systems

A woman stands in front of a presentation slide showing the text "Executive Chef Danielle Leoni" and images of plated food, with logos for James Beard Foundation and Windstar Cruises.

Food as social infrastructure — a way to build trust, continuity, and shared responsibility.

Translation & Leadership

Making complex food systems legible through cooking, taste, and shared experience.

Female Chef Danielle Leoni and student chef  wearing chef uniforms taking a selfie at a culinary school.

Community & Culture

Female Chef Danielle Leoni teaching a class of culinary students about fish preparation in a classroom kitchen setting.
A group of people smiling for a photo for a James Beard Foundation fund raiser. Some individuals are wearing chef attire, sunglasses and hats, and they appear to be enjoying a sunny day.

Every solution starts with a conversation.

If you’d like to collaborate,

book me for speaking,

bring culinary storytelling to your organization,

Get in Touch